Billy Strayhorn Songbook [Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered]

Billy Strayhorn (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 3, 1997)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered
• Label: Concord Jazz Special
• ASIN: B000005NKY
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #269,866 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Take the "A" Train

2. Lotus Blossom

3. Blood Count

4. Day Dream

5. Chelsea Bridge

6. Passion Flower

7. Rain Check

8. Something to Live For

9. All Heart

10. Lush Life

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent tribute to Billy, all artists on CD are brilliant, August 4, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Billy Strayhorn Songbook (Audio CD)

What a great find for any fans of Strayhorn. I've had to order four more copies of this CD after playing it for my friends. The Brown version of A TRAIN grabs everyone who hears it. This is a must addition to any serious jazz fan.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not of a whole., October 24, 2002

By 

Samuel Chell (Kenosha,, WI United States) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Billy Strayhorn Songbook (Audio CD)

You can't blame Concord for following the recycling and repackaging practices of most other record companies (especially Verve). But the final results are rarely satisfying--disconnected snapshots rather than a cohesive scrapbook. In fact, the variety in the composer's own music is obfuscated rather than brought into focus since the attention is necessarily on the different performers rather than the songs themselves.

As for the performances, not one stands out as particularly warm, subtle, or definitive. Gene Harris' "slow" treatment of "A Train" really doesn't do the tune any favors, none of the featured saxophonists begins to capture the sweetness of Johnny Hodges' sound, the Tito Puente performance makes "Passion Flower" recognizable but that's about all. That plus the omission of "Upper Manhattan Medical Group" and I'm beginning to question if the bargain price was such a bargain.